The International Price Program (IPP) produces the U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes (MXP), which measure the changes in the prices of goods and services imported into and exported from the United States. As a principal federal economic indicator (PFEI), the import and export price indexes provide critical information for determining the strength of our nation's economy and the direction in which it is moving. Participation is essential in order to provide a complete and accurate picture of how prices are moving in the foreign trade sector.
This website is intended to assist those who currently provide data to the International Price Program (IPP) or who have been contacted by a BLS representative to provide data to the IPP. (If you are an economist, statistician, researcher, or just someone who would like to learn more about IPP data and its uses, please refer to the IPP homepage.)
For information about setting up a web account or providing data online, see the Participant Page.
For general questions about the IPP or common questions about providing data, see the Frequently Asked Questions.
For details about the BLS pledge of confidentiality, see the Confidentiality page.
What is IPP? (Video)
- Since 1974, the U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes have, with your help, allowed policymakers to make informed decisions and government agencies to produce accurate statistics for tracking our nation’s economy.
- The U.S. Import and Export indexes are used by the U.S. Department of Commerce to calculate Gross Domestic Product, a picture of how the U.S. economy is changing.
- The U.S. Import and Export indexes also help to measure the nation’s competitiveness in the global economy and are useful for tracking import price changes from the major trading partners.
If IPP Contacts Me...(Video)
- The International Price Program (IPP) randomly selects companies to be included based upon their relative value of their trade in imports and exports during the course of a year. If you have received a letter or phone call from a BLS field economist about the IPP, that means BLS has selected your company to provide price information for its import/export price indexes.
- A BLS field economist will schedule an appointment with your company to select specific import or export items to include in the IPP’s market basket of goods.
- The BLS field economist will discuss how to provide follow-up prices for the selected items.
Last Modified Date: June 11, 2015